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NOTD: Searching for my Perfect Pink Polish

I have been searching for the perfect natural pink polish, but somehow I always end up with the wrong colour. Every shade I try always turns out being too bright, too dark, too sheer… and what irks me most of all, too cool for my skin tone. I always inevitably end up choosing the exact shade of pink to give me Pepto-Bismol nails. Lovely.

I thought I had finally found the perfect shade of natural pink for my skin tone. By natural, I meant pink enough to be opaque and visibly pink, but not overwhelmingly eye-catching. It also had to be a warm pink in order to suit my warm skin tone, as cool pinks look much too harsh and unflattering on my nails.

I thought I had found the perfect pink with this Tony Moly nail polish that I purchased in my haul a while ago. I assume the shade name is CL10? I can’t read Korean so the rest is a mystery to me. Doesn’t it look like the colour of the polish inside the bottle matches the colour of the polish on my nails exactly?

Well, imagine my surprise when the polish actually turned out to be a bright, almost neon pink on my nails. I wanted an appropriate pink that I could wear with my little black dress at a dinner party, not an eye-ache-inducing neon pink! I didn’t have time to redo my nails, so I grabbed a sheer pink polish and layered it on in the hopes it would make the neon more muted.

In addition to base coat and top coat, I ended up painting one coat of the Tony Moly CL10 and two coats of Zoya Scarlet (I’d have to argue that this colour is the farthest thing from scarlet). The application looks a bit patchy because I had expected to even it out with a second coat of the Tony Moly polish.

Zoya’s Scarlet is an extremely sheer pink that looks almost completely colourless on its own, great for plain nails or as the base for a french manicure. I received it in my Glossybox when it was still around.

With these two polishes, I managed to get a pink I liked that suited my skin tone. Perhaps I’ll never find my perfect pink polish and will have to resort to layering polishes in order to get the shade I want. After this discovery, I now have two polish layering combinations that give me a pink I want. It’s just not convenient because I have to apply so many layers and I’m afraid I may not be able to repurchase a certain shade over time.

Alas, I have yet to find The One! The search will go on.

What does your perfect pink polish look like? Do you have any suggestions for me?

13 thoughts on “NOTD: Searching for my Perfect Pink Polish”

Hmmm. I just flicked through my collection, and although I have around 30 pinks…none are warm, mid-toned, and cream. Now I have a reason to help expand that colour category…;) gotta help you find the ideal pink!

That would be perfect! I look forward to your search, I always seem to pick the wrong colours. Maybe I’m just not experienced enough with polish to tell how they would apply on my nails just from the colour in the bottle.

I may have found one — Macaroon Me Madly by L’Oreal. It’s a bit peachy, which may be more flattering than all of the other pinks I own (which are decidedly cool-toned). Bonus? I found it at Dollarama for $2! I’ll swatch it and toss it up on Twitter tonight.

Funny post! I ALWAYS pick the same shades that I already own, thinking they’re different/better…and I never get pink right either (I think we share the same skin tone) so I usually go for a nice pinkish nude if i’m being conservative, and a orangey pink if i’m feeling playful. Good luck!!